Tuesday, November 10, 2015

So, things have been a bit odd lately. On the one hand I don't have time for things like dyeing yarn, but on the other I have time to knit. So, I thought I would spend that extra knitting time coming up with a new project. That new project is to knit warm things for the local warming shelter. I talked to Sarah of Knot Another Hat and she was totally on board. So, I went to work knitting the perfect man hat and scarf (rav link).

It is large enough to go over the ears or be folded up. I chose Rowan Pure Wool as the yarn, because I wanted the warmth of wool, but also machine washable. This is the hat and scarf I came up with for the project. Two balls make both hat and scarf. It is now available at Knot Another Hat for the project. The shop is collecting hats through December 22nd and is giving $3 in credit for every item donated. The idea is that the Warming Shelter is open all day on Christmas Day and they like to give out gifts to everyone who comes. A hat and scarf set is a wonderful gift to someone who doesn't have a home on Christmas. I have already knit 4 sets and I'm hoping to get one or two more done before the deadline.

In addition, if you haven't knit stripes (which are optional) or a hat or scarf before I'll be teaching classes on both at Knot Another Hat. Hat class is November 15 & 22. Scarf class is December 6th.

If you aren't local and would like to donate items you can ship them to Knot Another Hat at their new location: 11 Third Street, #103, Hood River, OR 97031.

Saturday, July 18, 2015

I regret that I must inform you that due to a family emergency, LavenderSheep is closed for business for the immediate future. Yvonne has asked me, to the best of my ability, to close LavenderSheep.

Unfortunately I do not have enough information to know if this will be temporary or permanent closure. Please read on for what information I can provide you at this time.

Oustanding Orders

At this time I cannot say for certain how existing orders will be handled, refunded, or delayed. I cannot make any promises on Yvonne's behalf, nor do I know enough about the business to fulfill orders or continue operations.

You can expect, at the very least, a delay to any orders that you have outstanding with Yvonne. Also expect a delay to all communications between you and Yvonne.

When Yvonne is available again, I expect that she will reach out to each of her customers to make necessary arrangements with regard to outstanding orders.

New Orders

At this time, no new orders can be accepted. I will disable the website, to the best of my ability, to prevent new orders. If you create a new order during this time, it will not be fulfilled, and will likely be refunded to you at a later date.

Future Shows

LavenderSheep, to my knowledge, is currently scheduled to have booths at Oregon Flock and Fiber Festival in September, and Columbia Gorge Fiber Festival in November. I am not aware of any shows currently scheduled past those dates.

I cannot say, with certainty, whether LavenderSheep will be present at either show. It is my personal hope that Yvonne may be able to do so, but at this time I do not have enough information to say. Yvonne will have to decide on that account. I expect that she will post further updates to this blog.

Thank You

Thank you for being loyal customers and friends, and I thank you for your understanding and support during this time.

Contact

For further questions, contact bellswor@gmail.com. I will not respond to messages on Yvonne's email, Facebook, or Twitter accounts.

Thursday, July 16, 2015

I am getting a head start on fall / winter knitting. I find it is nice to knit small things in Summer. They are quick and easy and don't warm up my lap too much.

I have also been on a bit of a handspun kick lately. I love knitting with handspun. So, using Ann Budd's mitten pattern, I cast these on for my son. They were really fun to knit. I love that they came out almost identical for colors. He loves them and now his sister is begging for a pair too.

Tuesday, July 14, 2015

A few months ago the very talented Jean Clement of Desert Rose Fiber Arts contacted me because she loved my colors and wondered if I had a yarn which would be good for designing a Chemo Cap for her sister undergoing Chemo. I instantly recommended any of my Superwash yarns, because they are all really soft and machine washable. She settled on Superwash Sport in color Berry Pie, which is one of my favorites too! If you click the above link you can read through her design process as she created the hat and a review of the yarn too!

I think it turned out gorgeous. I love the slouchy hat style and the way it comes all together on the top. It is called the Aeron Hat. It uses 1 skein of Superwash Sport. You can purchase the pattern directly from her here!

I think it would be a great way to get a head start on fall knitting or a perfect project for anyone special in your life.

Monday, July 06, 2015

I have been finding myself knitting a lot for my kids these days. It's fun and projects seem to fly off the needles.

First up is a pair of socks (rav link) for my son from some Lorna's Laces yarn from my stash. These took less than 50 grams of yarn. I had a little trouble getting the size just right. They are a little extra long, but I figured they give him room to grow. He loves them a lot and is putting them away until fall.

Next, I knit up another skirt (rav link) for my daughter. A girl just can't have too many twirly skirts! This is the Lollipop Skirt by Bekah Knits. This is the second time I have knit this skirt and I love it! It is knit out of Sirdar Baby Bamboo. I think this is the last time I'm going to knit it out of this yarn, because the yarn gets quite heavy. I'm worried that if I knit a bigger size with it (This one is 3T) that it'll be too heavy to be practical. I have thought about knitting it out of a lighter weight wool, instead. I do love the 3 tier design, so I'm thinking about it some more!

Friday, July 03, 2015

I realized after Black Sheep that I have a lot of leftover odds and ends that I need to clear out so I can bring on some new things! I have ideas for at least 2-3 new products, but first I need room on the shelf to put them there! So, I am doing a huge sale with up to 50% off all sorts of things in the Sale Bin. 50% off Chunk Baby Alpaca, 35% off Silky Sock, and 20% off Tencel Sock! I may be adding some things throughout the month, so make sure to check back!

Monday, June 15, 2015

Here is the new map for vendors for Black Sheep Gathering. I'm so excited to be in the Fairgrounds building. The X in the middle of the map, I13, is my booth! If you are going to Black Sheep, make sure to stop by. I would love to meet you in person!

Friday, June 12, 2015

It is good to be busy, but it sure does take time away from blogging! Life has been go go go lately. I'm in the midst of getting ready for Black Sheep Gathering, which is happening June 19-21, if you happen to be in Eugene, OR then make sure to stop by and say hi! You can even see this lovely scarf (rav link) in person:

It was a quick weave for my learn to weave class. It used 1 skein of my MIU Superwash Sock in color Tartan! I dyed this yarn on purpose to make lovely faux-tartan scarves. Just wind the yarn onto the loom and weave! Simple!

Looks like it will be all ready for fall. When I took it off the loom my husband immediately asked if it was for him. Sorry dear, but I need it for a sample in the booth! Maybe when I retire it, he can have it. Though, I have a few more skeins of yarn in the stash which will be perfect for him too!

Thursday, June 04, 2015

The honeysuckle in my front yard is going a little bit crazy this year. My husband has the week off, so we have decided to spend it knocking out some garden chores. I've been too exhausted to do much else. Hopefully I'll be back soon with lots of new things to talk about!

Friday, May 29, 2015

First off, kids go through clothing like crazy. I feel like I'm buying them new clothes all the time. Now with 2, I thought it would be easy to have hand-me-downs. After all, boy clothes work just fine for girls, especially shorts and pants. However, that is not quite the case with my kids. My daughter, who is almost 3, will argue with me that she has nothing to wear if the items in her drawer aren't pink or purple or have hearts or flowers on them. We will go round and round until I finally dress her and dramatic sighing ensues. When any piece of clothing isn't to her liking she will say it is her brothers or that it is too small. This even includes black leggings bought specifically for her, which she picked out. (I explained to her that neutrals, like black, make other colors prettier, so she has resigned herself to wearing them if she absolutely has to).

So, I have been saving 6 pairs of shorts sizes 2T-3T, which were my sons that I felt were pretty gender neutral. I know from experience that these just won't fly with my daughter, so I came up with the brilliant idea of embellishing them to make them more "girly". A little trip to Fabric Depot and we were in business!

My goal with each pair of shorts was that the embellishment would cost less than a new pair of shorts. So everything I did was around $1-2 or under. The first 3 I just added buttons. Off with the plain buttons and on with red heart buttons. You can't see it, but the upper left pair have strawberry buttons. These met the approval of my daughter and took under 10 minutes to do each set of shorts.

The next pair I took polka-dot ribbon and ran it through the belt loops. I sewed it at each of the belt loops, stretching it at each one slightly, so it would stretch with the elastic. My daughter is very skinny, so I'm not too worried about them being too tight. Then I added a purple button from my button stash and called it good. She loves them!

Next pair I added a little ribbon to the pocket, I didn't think it was enough, so I added lace around the inside of the cuffs.

The last pair, I added ribbon just under the elastic waistband and then added it around the cuffs of the shorts. I did it below the elastic, just so it wouldn't interfere with the stretch.

It took me one afternoon and a bit of the next morning to do them all. I'm really happy with how they turned out. More importantly my daughter loves them all and thinks they are the best thing ever. So, hopefully this will mean a few less arguments in the morning and a little quicker time getting dressed!

Thursday, May 21, 2015

I finished a hoody (rav link) for my son back in April. Of course, it's been so warm he won't really get to wear it until next fall. Good thing I made it extra long!

His sister is wearing the one that I made for him a couple of years ago out of Tosh DK. I really love this pattern from Debbie Bliss's Design It! Knit It!: Babies. It's really easy to modify, which I definitely had to do both times I knit it. The first time I made it longer. This time I used handspun I spun during Spinzilla, so the gauge was a bit different. I used Naturspun Worsted as the accent grey. Now, I can't wait for cold rainy days so they both can get use out of their sweaters!

Tonight I am speaking at the Tigard Knitting Guild at the Tigard Senior Center. If you are a member, I'm looking forward to seeing you tonight!

Friday, May 15, 2015

I took my yarn down to Knot Another Hat for Knit Night a couple weeks ago. This was the setup, which turned out very lovely. It was so nice that Sarah, the owner, asked me to keep it up over the weekend, so I did that. Only, I had Learn to Weave on Sunday, so I had to figure out how to get all of it and my loom into my van to get it all home. A big thanks to my friend Janeann who helped me get it all in!

I'm planning on having a similar setup next week when I give a talk at the Tigard Knitting Guild at their monthly meeting. If you are a member, make sure to stop and say hi!

Right now I'm picturing some time in July is when I'll be less busy. So, I'll try to pop back in here when I can for updates. I have lots of fun things I've been working on, but not enough time to photograph them all. I have a list of things to share, so we'll see when I can get to it!

Wednesday, May 13, 2015

I can't believe how busy I have been lately. It just seems like there aren't enough hours in the day. However, I have been able to eek out a new knitting time during the children's bed time. My husband reads them stories every evening. So I have started taking advantage of it, by knitting something for the kids. First off the needles is a pair of socks for my daughter (rav link). These went so fast with her tiny feet. Look the pair I made myself back in August of 2006! I just had to get a photo of them both together! She loves them! Now to knit a pair for my son!

Edited to add: I realized going back through Ravelry that I never added these socks on there. So I just did and there is now a rav link.

Monday, April 27, 2015

I made them out of Cascade Venezia Sport yarn, which is 70% Merino Wool 30% Silk. This yarn is so smooth and soft it is absolutely ideal for weaving towels. I stocked up on a bunch of it at Knot Another Hat's March Madness Sale, so I can make even more towels! Love them!

I'm teaching this class at Knot Another Hat Sunday, May 17th. The class is almost full, so make sure you sign up right away! If you aren't in the area, or can't make it to the class, don't worry, if you have woven a few scarves then you can tackle this project! I have the pattern up in the shop with step by step instructions to walk you through everything you need to know to make these towels.

If you make them, please let me know! I would love to see your finished towels!

Monday, April 13, 2015

A couple of weeks ago I taught a class on Color & Weave. For it we did a simple pattern to learn the basics. While I was developing the class I put together a step by step pattern that walks through making the placemats. So, I thought it would be fun to make the pattern available on the website!

The reason it is called "faux" is because it isn't quite a true log cabin pattern. A true one has an extra thread every repeat. For simplicity in teaching warping on the warping board for the first time, I omitted the extra thread. However, I did include a true log cabin draft in the back of the pattern, if you would like the extra challenge.

This pattern is written for a Rigid Heddle Loom, but I include directions suitable for shafted looms, because those are what I was trained on first. My patterns are meant to teach someone how to use any loom whether it is a Rigid Heddle or a more traditional loom.

Wednesday, April 08, 2015

I have wanted to put together a full spectrum of my yarn for sometime. Thanks to a rather large order from Knot Another Hat, I can do it in Mini Skeins. All of these and many many more will be delivered to Knot Another Hat this afternoon!

Tuesday, April 07, 2015

Just to clarify a quick thing (because we're getting excited emails about this!): this opt-in feature for shops with appointment only hours or dyers with studio hours isn't actually for In-Store Sales at shows, festivals, etc - the service can't be used at events. Our terms haven't changed and that still isn't permitted - we know people would like to sell at shows but In-store Sales are all that are allowed with this service, and nothing has changed there. I hope this helps to clarify!

So, I sent the following message to Ravelry:

​​Dear Ravelry,

I am sorry I posted that Ravelry In-Store Pattern Sales were open to vendors at shows. Here is my confusion:

1. When I setup my appointment only brick & mortar shop, I had to go through extra steps for designers to allow my shop to sell patterns. Steps outlined here: http://lavendersheep.blogspot.com/2015/04/ravelry-in-store-pattern-sales.html. While going through that process I saw that I could allow shops to sell my designs, which were described as “Vans which go from event to event”. I thought those sounded exactly the same as vendors at shows. I drive a van to various events and then setup a booth. What is the difference?

2. I would also like to clarify your policy. Are you saying that I can sell as many patterns as I like as long as I am in my home studio? However, when I travel to an event, where I take exactly the same yarn and samples, I can’t sell patterns there? How is this different? I sell patterns using my phone/tablet at either location. I handle every sale myself in person. I can’t print easily at a show, but other than that the transaction would be exactly the same. I would still pay designers through Ravelry either way. I also know from experience that I can sell a lot of patterns at shows. I have been selling hard copy patterns at shows for almost the last 10 years. I know I could sell even more if I had the flexibility of Ravelry Sales.

3. This seems to be a service that is wanted by both Indie Dyers and Indie Designers. From your service agreement you describe yourself as simply an intermediary between designers and shop owners. Wouldn’t you be doing exactly that to offer this service? If designers opt into it and Indie Dyers sign up for it, then what is the problem?

Perhaps now is the time to open your policies up to new possibilities that benefit everyone. I hope you will take these thoughts into consideration. I await your reply.

I await their reply. I honestly don't think it will come to anything. I'm just sorry I gave out the wrong information. Though, in my defense I reread their service policies and they definitely are far from clear. They were written back in 2011 and I believe that they are in desperate need of an update. I'm not sure what I am going to do with pattern sales at the moment either, since majority of my pattern sales happen at events. I definitely will keep you posted here on the blog. Thanks!

Response is here: https://twitter.com/lavendersheep/status/585481291237347329Looks like Event Sales are in the works! Woohoo!

Monday, April 06, 2015

Wow! A big thank you to everyone who visited my last post about Ravelry In-Store Sales! I'm so excited to look through all these patterns I now have available to knit up in my yarn! I hope that this gets out to as many Indie Designers and Dyers as possible, so that we all have the opportunity to use this great service.

On a completely different topic, we purchased a Keurig, just in time for the Open Studio Day! Now we can serve coffee, tea, and hot chocolate!

Do you have a favorite K-Cup? We are still trying things out to see which is best and would love recommendations!

Friday, April 03, 2015

I have good news! Ravelry is now allowing those of us who primarily do shows or have just a studio sometimes open to the public or sell only online the opportunity to be a part of Ravelry In-Store Pattern Sales! Yay! However, there is a catch. In order to sell a particular designers patterns you have to ask them individually to do the following steps:

2. Scroll down to In-Store Sales and click on the button marked "View Retailers"

3. Scroll down to my shop LavenderSheep (it should be near the top) and click on the drop down list where it says "blocked" and change it to "permitted"

That will add my shop to allow me to sell your designs.

So here is what you can do:

-If you are an Indie Dyer, sign up! It took almost 2 months to get my account, so be patient. Then get the word out that you want to sell designer's patterns. Think of how many samples you have in your booth. You are already sending people to Ravelry, why not sell them patterns right there on the spot with your tablet or phone?! Pass on this post, so that other dyers know about it!

-If you are an Indie Designer and you would like Indie Dyers to use your patterns, do the steps above and add everyone you feel comfortable adding. Check back often to make sure you aren't missing any newly added shops. Pass on this posts to other Indie Designers to get the word out. When you add a shop, let them know that you have added them. Like, if you add mine, I would love to know it, so I can plan out gorgeous samples with my yarn!

Wednesday, April 01, 2015

For the Rose City Yarn Crawl, I was able to go on Friday to For Yarn Sake and hang out there all day with my trunk show. It was wonderful! The not so wonderful part was that my husband texted me that my daughter had a temperature. So, by Sunday, when I had planned to go do the shopping part of the yarn crawl, my family were all very sick. Mama to the rescue! So to make up for it, my husband said I could find a free Sunday and go that day instead. The best one was this last Sunday.

I went with my wonderful friend Janeann, and we visited 4 yarn shops: Twisted, Dublin Bay, Knitting Bee, and For Yarn's Sake. I got 2 skeins of Blue Moon Heavy Weight (in the back) to make socks for my husband. The red is Madelinetosh Vintage Worsted to make my son a sweater. The front is a couple of balls of Sirdar Baby Bamboo to go with some yarn I have for a skirt for my daughter. I think that covers everyone! I also scored some pretty nice yarn from Knot Another Hat's March Madness sale. It has been a busy yarn filled month! The pattern and the pen on the side were swag from a couple of the shops that felt that we needed a little something extra since we are yarn crawling. =) It was a wonderful trip and something I would definitely like to do again!

Monday, March 30, 2015

I'm happy to announce that on April 18th, 10am - 4pm, I'm going to have an open studio day!

My studio will be open with lots of yarn, spinning fiber, and more! I can also guarantee there will be quite a bit on sale, including retired samples and so much more! I will also have lots of comfortable seating inside for crafting and outside, if the weather holds. It's going to be so much fun! More info and directions on the website here: http://www.lavendersheep.com/openstudio.html

Wednesday, March 25, 2015

Ah, it's good to be getting back to blogging. I've been a bit busy getting back into the groove of things after the Rose City Yarn Crawl, which was awesome! I had so much fun and sold so much yarn! A big thank you to everyone who came out for the event!

Anyway, back to what's on the needles. I finished off these soaker pants (rav link) awhile back.

I knit them for my cousin's new baby out of some delicious handspun I found last summer. It is 3 different strands of shetland wool plied together and then dyed. This yarn is odd because in some lights it is purple and others it turns out blue. The wool comes from the lady who spun and dyed it all in the Salem area. I was really impressed! It's perfect for soaker pants, since it is a nice hardy wool. The farm is Goat Knoll Farms and it looks like she will be at a lot of the same shows as me, so I may just have to get some more yarn!

Monday, March 02, 2015

Starting to pack up for the Rose City Yarn Crawl​! I'll be at For Yarn's Sake​ Friday 11am-5pm and the wonderful Larissa Brown​ will be there from 11am - 1:30pm to sign copies of Beautiful Wreck​! All the Beautiful Wreck yarns will be there. Any other requests?

Monday, February 23, 2015

Rose City Yarn Crawl is where all the shops in the Portland Metro Area have special events going on for an entire weekend. This year it is March 5th-8th. I will be spending Friday, March 6th at For Yarn's Sake in Beaverton with a trunk show of yarns and samples. Larissa Brown will be there for a book signing as well as books & patterns inspired by her books. I'll be bringing the Beautiful Wreck inspired yarn and mini skeins as well. So make sure you drop by and see us!

Also, if you have any requests, let me know and I'll make sure to pack them!

Wednesday, February 18, 2015

I always keep a pair of DK weight socks (rav link) on the needles at all times in case I need a mindless project to take somewhere. They usually take me about a year to make, but then he has another pair of lovely socks to wear. These were out of Tosh DK, which is turning out to be one of my favorite yarns for his socks. I love the colorway Plaid Blanket mixed with the golden Harvest Wheat color. I think for my next pair I am going to try out Cat Bordhi's new Sweet Tomato Heel! I'm really looking forward to it!

Monday, February 16, 2015

I just finished a sweater for my daughter and I am so in love with this pattern!

The pattern is Flax (rav link) by Tin Can Knits. It's a simple top down raglan sweater design all knit in one piece. The bonus is the pattern is free with lots of diagrams and details to knit it on your own. It knit up so fast! I love it! The yarn is something I got from Knot Another Hat during their March Madness sale a couple years ago. It's Mochi Plus, which means machine washable single plied yarn. I loved working with it. It was super soft. My daughter loves it, which is the most important part.

Also, the sizes for this sweater run from newborn to Men's 4X, so you can knit it for anybody! If you don't want to do it on your own, my amazing friend Destiny is doing a class on it starting this Saturday, February 21st at Knot Another Hat.

Wednesday, February 11, 2015

I was very lucky to get to take a class with Veera Valimaki this last Sunday at Happy Knits in Portland! Here is what I made in class:

Veera walked us through all the basic shawl shapes. She had us start a simple shawl of any style and then start adding texture to it, any simple pattern. Then to add surprises she suggested adding short rows and color and other fun things. I enjoyed this moment of playing with my knitting of just adding things as I felt like it. It was very freeing. It was also just a lot of fun to take a class. Sure I could have learned all this stuff on my own, but really it was great to go take a class and try something new. It was an adventure! I definitely plan on taking more classes in the future! If you have a chance to take a class with Veera, sign up for it! She is a really interesting person and I enjoyed her class very much!

Monday, February 09, 2015

This yarn is named Wasco. Little more than 10 miles to the east of Hood River is Wasco County. Due to something called a rain shadow, this marks the beginning of more arid country. It's beauty is held in fields of wheat and other grains, which glow golden and brown in the summer sun.

Wednesday, February 04, 2015

This yarn is named Tartan. When I was a child my family annually attended the Scottish Games. I loved the bagpipes, kilts and different woollen tartans representing each clan. Today we can cheat a little and use this yarn to make our own tartan. Just one skein and you can weave your own faux tartan scarf!

Monday, February 02, 2015

This yarn is named Kite Boarder. It is named after the kiteboarders who frequent the Columbia River at the port of Hood River. Every summer they are on the river with their bright colored designs and billowing sails

Wednesday, January 28, 2015

This yarn is named Lupine. It is named after one of my favorite native Oregon flowers, the lupine. I love the beautiful purples and blues this flower produces, often against a darker background of woods and wildlife.

LavenderSheep Shop

I am a full time Indie Dyer. I make fabulous handpainted yarn inspired by the Pacific Northwest. I knit in my spare time, which is every moment I can get. I dye custom orders and am always open to ideas for yarn and colors!